


How Much I Need You

by Lilly_Bei_Stark



Category: Eureka (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-15 18:40:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8068471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilly_Bei_Stark/pseuds/Lilly_Bei_Stark
Summary: The entire town needs Jack Carter a lot more than they think. Nathan's not immune to this vein of thought, but he and everyone else get a wake-up call in the form of a surprisingly perceptive young woman.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, but I'm open to receiving them as a gift. 
> 
> Warnings: M/M kissing (oh the humanity!)
> 
> As with all my stories, ENJOY!

It all started with Zoe Carter's outburst. 

The day was simply gloomy; overcast and dark in a way that drained all of the life out of the town like a scientific experiment on dopamine suppression. Most of the populace that could be bothered to go out to dinner, rather than holing up in their houses like they were afraid the clouds would burst and divulge an acid rain, had ended up at Cafe Diem. Nearly every seat was filled, minus one or two spots at the counter, and Zoe was helping Vincent field the vast amount of orders coming through. 

Seated in one of the window-side booths, Nathan Stark was watching with the barest hint of interest in his surroundings. Allison was across from him, mainly focused on her coffee. Since saying no to his marriage proposal several months ago, she had tried to maintain their friendship through dinners and coffee breaks, but had found the task difficult. It wasn't because Nathan didn't want to stay friends; his friendship with Allison had been one of the main reasons that he had fallen in love with her the first time. It was why he was willing to try and make things work a second time, despite that not turning out. No, Nathan's problem; and therefore Allison's problem staying friendly with Nathan, was in the woman's reason for declining him. 

Thoughts of what she had said when she refused to marry him brought his thoughts to Jack Carter, who was missing from his usual spot at the diner counter. Zane was actually occupying the sheriff's usual spot and it wasn't lost on Nathan that his own mind was chiming in about how wrong that was. 

Carter wasn't here because of an experiment earlier in the week. A test to simulate the creation of dark matter had caused a miniature black hole. With every attempt to fix the issue, the hole grew bigger. Soon it was taking up the destroyed space of nine labs on three floors. When no one could figure out how to resolve the problem, Carter came in with one of his blindingly simple solutions. Not only that, but he was the one who implemented said solution; an act which had put enormous strain on his body. Bones had broken, blood vessels popped. Despite Nathan's tendency to stay away when the sheriff recuperated from injuries (because he didn't want Carter to see it as an overture of friendship; NOT because something in his chest hurt when he realized just how badly the blonde was probably feeling), he did wind up seeing the dark blotches of black and blue that covered the man nearly head to toe. Nathan tried not to feel guilty when he thought about it. Instead of dwelling, he forced his attention onto something else. Not to be completely deterred, however, he only managed to shift his attention from one Carter to the other. 

Zoe was smiling chipperly as she handed out the meal order to a small family near the counter. She looked so much like her father, down to the way her lips quirked up when she was happy. Subsequently, and a moment later, she mirrored one of Carter's other expressions. Grim resignation. Nathan followed her line of vision to the man that had just entered the diner.

Dr. Lloyd Rimmer wasn't the smartest scientist at G.D., but his intellect was nothing to sneeze at. His ego, however, was the size of a planet. It made Nathan's prideful, sometimes overly egotistical attitude look like the mannerisms of Mother Theresa. And it was Dr. Rimmer whose experiment had nearly destroyed the entire town in a black hole only days ago.

Nathan felt his brow furrow at the man's entrance. He had been bemoaning the loss of his beloved project for days, cursing Carter for 'ineptly' destroying the equipment that he needed to continue his research. The equipment in question being the thing that kept the black hole large and threatening in the first place. Rimmer had done nothing but bash the sheriff's intelligence for days and it was wearing thin on even his most sympathetic ear. Nathan could only imagine how Zoe felt, hearing her father bashed day in and day out by a man who'd nearly annihilated the town.

As it turned out, he wouldn't have to do much imagining, as Rimmer laid out the final straw to break the camel's back by whining directly to the young blonde that he hoped she would turn out an improvement on the Carter formula. Nathan didn't have time to let the subsequent swell of anger pull him out of his seat, probably with the intention of introducing Rimmer's nose to the diner counter, because Zoe slapped down the towel in her hands and glared. 

"Why don't you shut your yammering mouth for a minute and give someone else the floor. I've listened to you going on an on about how _stupid_ my dad is all week and I'm done with it. I don't care how high your IQ is, you haven't got an ounce of common sense. Saving the people in this town was leagues more important than your measly computers and machines. My dad has sacrificed himself over and over again at the altar of science and no one seems to give a shit! MY DAD is the thing that has kept this entire town from blowing up for years and if you don't start treating him with some god damn respect, then you can eat glass for all I care!" Zoe's voice rose until she shouted the last few words. 

The cafe was silent. Then, slowly, there came clapping. Nathan would like to have had the courage to start it, but he merely followed along as the entire diner erupted into applause. He continued to watch as Zoe's glare chased the scientist from the diner. Vincent put a hand on the teenager's elbow, then pulled her into a hug when her resolve started to crumple. Nathan and the rest of the diner patrons took the hint to direct their attention elsewhere.

\------------------------------------------

Part of him expected that to be the last he'd hear about it. While the gossip mill tended to latch on to anything remotely interesting and belabor it into the ground, it also seemed to have a kinder disposition towards Zoe Carter, at least while the adults were still in charge. Nathan expected the girl's rant to turn a few heads, grace a few conversations, then get dropped from the public eye like news of someone's average genius level SAT scores. It was surprising, then, when it didn't.

A week later, Nathan sat in the cafeteria with Allison, discussing the quantum energy generator in production on level four. He was adding salt to his meal when a phrase or two from behind him caught his attention and caused him to go silent mid-sentence. 

"I'm just saying that Sheriff Carter might not be that stupid, in retrospect. While he doesn't know the terminology for...anything, he does have a tendency to grasp what he's told quickly and the ability to relate complex ideas down to the layman's level." Some Section 3 scientist was relating to another. 

"Well, I don't see why it's suddenly become a town-wide discussion. He still doesn't even know how an electron microscope works." 

"It doesn't matter. If the electron microscope were going haywire and about to kill us all, Sheriff Carter would stop it even if it killed him. That's why the town's talking about him. He may not be at our level, but he still deserves more respect than pricks like Rimmer have been giving him."

"Nathan." Stark's attention snapped back to Allison like magnets attracting. 

"Sorry. I was talking about-"

"You were listening to them talking about Jack." Allison smiled at him knowingly, resting her chin on the heel of her hand. 

Nathan felt several emotions in short order. Embarrassment was high on the list, as was annoyance. "That doesn't mean anything. I just tuned in to a name I recognized." He dismissed, trying to cut off what he knew she was going to say. Instead of answering, Allison's lips twisted in a smirk that was entirely too smug. "Anyways..." Nathan narrowed his eyes at her. "I was talking about the possibilities for making the quantum energy generator compatible with medical equipment. If we hook it into ultrasound equipment, I think we can adjust it to be able to-"

\----------------------------------------

"Not you too." Nathan groaned as Henry walked into the lab they were temporarily collaborating in at G.D., carrying that garish appreciation card that had taken up residence on the counter at Cafe Diem for most of the week. Henry chuckled good-naturedly as he set the card down on the table at Nathan's elbow. 

"What's the harm, Nathan? Besides, a signature on this would mean twice as much to him if it's yours."

"What's the harm _aside_ from giving him room to make insipid jokes about how I 'appreciate' him?" The scientist glared at the blue and orange card. 'You're the BEST' was emblazoned across the front like the world's worst consolation prize. 

"Is it really a joke if it's true?" Henry teased, proving to his once-protegee that the man had been spending abundantly too much time with Jack. Nathan saved his work before turning around to glare. 

"Don't tell me Allison's gotten you over to her deluded theory now." 

Henry grinned at him irrepressibly. "Hey, I just want to see my friends happy." 

Nathan paused for a long moment. He was mulling things over, debating on whether to continue this slightly punishing conversation or to just get onto the project they were working on. Finally he asked, "And you think that would make either of us happy?" Henry's hand settled on his shoulder, drawing thoughtful green eyes up onto his own. 

"I think it would make _both_ of you happy. If only either of you would stop being stubborn long enough to try." The jack of all trades turned away, leaving Nathan to his own thoughts as he got to work. 

\------------------------------------------------------

Nathan wouldn't classify coming to the bunker as one of his better ideas. He wasn't even sure if he would classify it as a good idea yet. All he knew was that he'd heard Zoe telling a girl named Pillar that she would be over at six with pajamas and notes so they could prepare for their test. That meant that the recently healed Jack, who was off duty for another three days, would be alone. 

Part of him didn't expect SARAH to let him in. He reasoned that he was probably the last person that Jack wanted to see when he was relaxing, even though Nathan hadn't done anything to actively piss Carter off in almost a week. He'd even signed the sheriff's god damned appreciation card. In retrospect, maybe that was why he was let in. 

When the door opened, Nathan found himself face to face with the topic of everyone's discussions of the last week. His blonde, blue eyed good looks were somewhat marred by the yellowing bruises covering the side of his face, neck, and arms. He looked like he was fresh from the shower, wearing a paper thin t-shirt that clung to every contour of him and a pair of long sleep pants. He also wore the most confused expression, which Nathan fought like hell not to find endearing. 

"Stark. What's going on?"

Nathan paused a long while. His jaw worked through several beginnings before finally coming to something...adequate to say. "When I proposed to Allsion, she said no." He started. He saw the shields raise behind Carter's eyes and almost regretted it, but he barreled on even further. "She said no because of you, you know. She told me that outright."

Jack's shoulders were set in a tense line. "Look Stark, I'm sorry things didn't work out for you, but-"

"I'm not sorry." Nathan cut him off. Carter's mouth closed and his eyes were bewildered again. The scientist took a few steps closer, until her was backing Jack up against the wall. "Allison said that she couldn't marry me...when I have feelings for someone else." 

Blue eyes widened enormously, the sheriff's mouth opening and closing wordlessly before settling on gaped open in shock. Nathan raised a hand and cupped the blonde's cheek, feeling the softness against his palm; the heat. "Stark-"

"Nathan." He corrected, watching as understanding sunk in behind those azure orbs. "I want to be with you Jack. I've spent too long underestimating how much I need you." Nathan dipped his head, waiting for rejection. He hesitantly pressed his lips to the willing pair beneath them.

Like being electrocuted for the first time, sparks lit up beneath his skin. Jack's mouth was soft and pliant, moving against his pleasantly. Nathan's hands slid down. One of them cupped the back of the sheriff's neck, holding him into the kiss, while the other dipped beneath the edge of his shirt. Carter's hands came forwards to fist in his suit jacket, one in the sleeve and the other in the lapel. Their kiss went hot and hard in an instant, bridging the gap between new exploration and filthy possession.

When they finally had to break apart to breathe, Nathan leaned his forehead against Jack's. They traded panted breaths, then came back together for a chaste, but passionate kiss; filled with promises. Nathan's thumb traced over the line of Jack's pulse, lulled by it's quick beat. 

"I need you, Jack Carter." He whispered. He felt the answering smile pressed against his lips seconds later and knew that this was only the beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> This story was my attempt to fulfill a request. Thank you 'Person'! (P.S.- I swear that's the name guys.) I hope the story lived up to what you were looking for.


End file.
